Giving by world middle class could approach quarter of a trillion dollars a year by 2030

26 February 2013

The vast expansion of the global middle class could lead to
global charitable giving of nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars
a year if people in rapidly developing economies give in line with
the UK, according to a new report published today.

Giving could rise to $224 billion a year
(£146bn) by 2030 – enough to wipe out extreme poverty and in excess
of the Gross Domestic Product of Ireland - if the world's middle
classes match the average 0.4% of spending donated to charity by
people in the UK.

The Future World Giving report launched today
(Tuesday) at an event at the House of Commons by the Charities Aid
Foundation (CAF), an international charity which promotes
charitable giving and provides financial services and social
finance to not-for-profit organisations.

The report aims to estimate the possible
extent of charitable giving around the world if governments and the
voluntary sector were to harness the potential of the huge
expansion of the middle classes.

The number of middle class people globally is
projected to grow by 165 per cent by 2030 - from 1.8 billion in
2009 to 4.9 billion in 2030 - according to OECD data, with their
spending power set to grow by 161 per cent over the same
period.

Seventy per cent of this growth is forecast to
occur outside the traditional world centres of giving in Europe and
North America.

The world’s ultra-rich is also growing, with
the number of people worth $100 million or more predicted to grow
from 63,000 in 2011 to 86,000 by 2016.

CAF is launching a major project to examine
how governments around the world can make these levels of giving a
reality by promoting charitable giving, ensuring there are the
right incentives for people to give and setting standards of
transparency for charities to build trust.

John Low, Chief Executive of the Charities Aid
Foundation, said: “Across the world developing economies are
growing at a phenomenal rate as countries like China, India and
Brazil emerge as economic superpowers.

“The massive expansion of wealth that will
come from this social change means there will be vast untapped
potential for people to contribute to causes in their countries and
across the globe. If the new middle classes give to charity like we
do in the UK, the potential to transform the world for the better
will be vast.

“'Governments and civil society across the
world need to harness these powerful social trends. We need to
prepare for these changes now to make sure that people can support
the causes they care about with confidence and ease".